Defeat makes Day's work easier
English coach Jamie Day did not hide his frustration after Bangladesh's shock 1-0 defeat to Sri Lanka in a FIFA friendly after his charges underwent hard training over the past two months. The coach also categorically put the young lads that played the Asian Games ahead of the ones who played against lightweights Sri Lanka in Nilphamari yesterday.
Bangladesh had more possession but could not make any clear-cut scoring chances as they miserably failed to hold the ball in the attacking third against the Islanders, who looked better on counter-attack with better running.
"Obviously, it was disappointing. We had a lot possession but didn't do enough with the ball; not enough shots, not enough crosses of quality. With the possession we had we didn't deserve to lose but we did," said a frustrated Day at the post-match press conference.
"The team that played last week is completely different to the team that played this week. Last week we had younger ones and today [Wednesday] we had the rest to show us whether they deserve a place in the SAFF Championship. My question is: have they done enough? Probably some have and some haven't. So, it makes my job easier picking the team next week," added the English coach, who will declare his final squad on September 2.
After watching the poor performance from the senior players, Day subtly contrasted their performance with the showings of the youngsters at the Asian Games.
"If you look at last week, we had a group of 10 young players that were aggressive, that were on the front foot, they had the desire. It probably made my job easier for next week. For me now we get back to pick a squad of 20 and we move on to SAFF Championship next week," said Day, adding that "if we go younger [for the SAFF Championship], then we go younger".
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